Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Two Blue Jay Squads Squash Gurdon Teams

Nevada enjoyed its trip to Gurdon Tuesday, Dec. 5, as the Blue Jays took two of three games.

The lone loss was in the senior girls game, while the junior girls and senior boys increased their winning record.

NEVADA 74

GURDON 61

The Jays utilized good fundamental basketball in posting a 74-61 win against the Go-Devils.

Nevada won the opening tip, failed to score, but drew first blood after a Gurdon miss.

Scoring came slow for both teams in the opening eight minutes, even though the Jays and Devils set a solid pace up and down the court.

Nevada battled Gurdon's 2-3 zone, while the Devils fought to beat the Jays's man defense.

The game was tied at 6-6 late in the period until Nevada hit back-to-back treys and a free throw, while allowing Gurdon a single bucket, to make it 13-8 when the buzzer sounded.

The second quarter was much the same, with the two squads keeping the hardwood hot, but neither scoring much until the middle of the period.

Three minutes into the second, Nevada led 21-13. The Jays pushed the lead to 10 at 23-13 with 4:04 left.

As time ran down in the half, both teams found their stroke and began converting.

Even though Nevada led by as many as 12 in the quarter, the Devils refused to go away and battled back to make it 30-26 as halftime arrived.

The Devils tied the game at 30-30 early in the third period, only to see the Jays hit two quick buckets to retake the lead.

For each Gurdon rally, the Jays had an answer and response throughout the game.

Both coaches went to their benches frequently and in great number. Gurdon sent in two and three at a time, while Nevada would substitute entire squads at a time.

In spite of the fresh legs, the Jays were unable to put any real distance between themselves and Gurdon.

The third quarter ended with the Jays holding a 45-40 lead.

The final eight minutes told the tale as Nevada scored more consistently than Gurdon. The Devils, in fact, were just off on their shots, either hitting the front or back of the iron.

As the Devils continued to miss shots from the field, the Jays enjoyed pulling down rebounds and sprinting down court.

The Jays built a lead at 52-44, only to see Gurdon start using a full-court press.

However, Nevada broke the press with the pass in a textbook manner, using long tosses to find players open in the paint.

With 4:31 left in the game, Nevada led 60-46.

Gurdon attempted to fight back, but the Jays simply refused to let them get in the game.

Jason Yarbrough led all scorers in the game with 19 for the Jays. Recario King was next with 16, while Geoffery Box added 15.

Norris Glenn was Gurdon's leading scorer with 16. Kendall House had 10.

NEVADA 32

GURDON 46

Turnovers, turnovers and more turnovers were more than the Lady Jays could overcome as they fell 46-32 to Gurdon.

Not having the ball, or being able to put it in the hole when in possession resulted in the Lady Jays scoring 10 points in the first half.

Gurdon, though, didn't play much better, but did perform well enough to post a win and even their record at 4-4 on the season.

The teams swapped buckets for the first three minutes of the game, but precious few buckets, as the score was 4-4 with 5:04 showing.

The game resembled keep-away more than basketball as both squads passed the ball several times before attempting a shot.

However, as the first quarter wound down, the Lady Devils were able to outscore Nevada 7-2 and led 11-6 at the end of one.

Gurdon opened the second quarter with a three pointer to increase its lead.

But, from there, neither team protected the ball well, resulting in more turnovers and fewer points.

The Lady Devils built a 15-8 lead with about 3:30 left. At this point, both teams were in the bonus situation and further scoring came primarily from the free throw line.

Gurdon was also able to get its running game going late in the half, while Nevada remained frustrated.

The frustration showed when a Lady Jay was called for swinging her elbows after pulling down a rebound.

Halftime arrived with the score 28-10 for Gurdon.The Lady Jays hit the lockers at the half, and didn't come back until the buzzer sounded to start the third quarter.

Gurdon's players remained on court, working on their shooting, and getting advice from their coach shortly before the third began.

Once play resumed, though, it was simply more of the same, as both teams turned the bal over and neither scored well.

However, the Lady Jays offense did make a brief appearance, and cut into Gurdon's lead.

Nevada trimmed the lead to 10 at 28-18, before the cold-shooting Lady Devils finally heated up with 3:08 left in the period.

In all, the Lady Jays did outscore Gurdon 12-4 in the quarter, which ended with the Lady Devils leading 32-22.

Scoring on both sides improved a bit in the fourth quarter, though there were times when neither team was able to hit shots close to the basket.

Nevada stayed within 10 most of the period, only to have the Lady Devils figure out how to break the press late.

Pam Young led all scorers with 21 for Nevada.

Vanesha Young paced Gurdon with 15.

JUNIOR LADY JAYS 29

JUNIOR LADY DEVILS 26

The first game of the night was nip and tuck all the way, as neither Nevada nor Gurdon could put the other away.

Each time one would score in the first, the other responded in kind, until the end of the quarter, which ended with Nevada leading 8-6.

Lady Jay coach Gloria Johnson told her players to surround Gurdon's Haley Griffin, as she provided most of the team's offense.

This they did successfully, as Griffin was forced to pass the ball off or take bad shots much of the game.

The Lady Devils tied the game at the start of the second, only to see the Lady Jays respond with four quick points to make it 12-9.

Nevada led throughout the half, but couldn't get rid of the pesky Lady Devils.

The Lady Jays led 16-11 with 27 seconds left, only to see Griffin nail a three-pointer to make it 16-14. Nevada tacked on two just before the buzzer, to add to its lead at the half, 18-14.

Both teams picked up the pace in the third quarter, with the Lady Devils becoming more aggressive, but unable to score early.

The first points of the second half came from the Lady Jays with 3:29 showing. This made it 20-14.

Nevada was able to build its lead to eight at 22-14, before Gurdon rallied.

The Lady Jays also began getting called for traveling as they headed downcourt. There were so many traveling calls, Nevada qualified for frequent flier miles.

Still, as the third came to an end, Nevada clung to a 22-20 lead.

The Lady Jays scored first in the fourth after a pick led to an easy bucket.

Nevada received a helping hand from Gurdon as the Lady Devils were hit with several three second violations midway through the final frame.

However, the Lady Jays just couldn't find the nails to drive in Gurdon's coffin. This was done by Lady Devil Coach Tammy Alexander with five seconds left in the game.

At this point, the score was 28-26 and a Nevada player had just missed the iron on a free throw attempt giving Gurdon the ball.

Alexander called time out, and was hit with a technical foul as Gurdon had none left at the time.

This gave Nevada two free throws and the ball. The Lady Jays hit one of the free shots and held the ball to end the game.

Griffin still led all scorers in the game with 18 points for Gurdon.

Fredrica Quarles paced Nevada with 14.